Juliet's cubs tongue-licking - April 8, 2012Lynn thanks you for so many happy birthday wishes! It was great to see the support and unity that gives such encouragement to power on for another year.
Juliet and cub - April 8, 2012In the woods, Lily and Faith showed us that we shouldn’t have removed their Den Cam so soon. After spending a week up to a mile away, they revisited the den for 4 hours today, and we would have liked to have seen what they did. We don’t know if they went in the den or just hung around outside.
June may have revisited an old den recently when she returned to an area near it where she is known to forage on wild calla (Calla palustris). Her GPS signal disappeared for long periods, which makes us wonder if she was in her old den under a big boulder for those periods.
Jewel and cubs bolt for the den - April 9, 2012Jewel and the cubs were outside their den today when suddenly about 2:30 PM, Jewel looked off in the distance and made the fast deep breathing sounds that signify danger. She and the cubs then dove into the den. The direction she looked was not a direction one would expect a person. We couldn’t see what it was. It was interesting to see how quickly her cubs responded to her alarm and ran for the only safety they know—the den. A vidoe of their reaction is posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca15bQRyVkY.
Juliet's little acrobat - April 8, 2012Juliet and her 3 cubs spent most of their time at a new bed, but Juliet went off finding willow catkins at times. The 2 cubs that seem most bonded played and tongue-licked with each other. The lightest faced female cub was more independent.
Juliet's cubs asleep in a pile! - April 8, 2012We keep coming back to the importance of educational outreach to schools. To quote Jane Goodall, “Young people, when informed and empowered, when they realize that what they do truly makes a difference, can indeed change the world. We should never underestimate the power of determined young people.” The enthusiasm of students across the country for bears is a start toward what we want to grow in the new building.More on that later.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center